encore

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɒŋkɔː/, /ˈɒ̃kɔː/ (UK); /ˈɑnkoɹ/, /ˈɑŋkoɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French encore (“still, yet, again”),^[2][3][4][5] generally explained as from Vulgar Latin *hinc ad hōram (“from then to this hour”),^[2][3][4][6] or from Latin hanc ad hōram, in hanc hōram (“to this hour”),^[4][7][8] with hōra (“hour”) (see hour).^[2][3][7] Hoad calls its origin uncertain,^[9] and Skeat notes that it is somewhat disputed.^[10] Italian ancora (“again, still, yet”) is said to be a French loanword.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an interjection, “again, once more”, used by an audience to call for the repetition of a song or performance (1712 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^[11][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Steele wrote in the Spectator that whenever gentlemen were pleased with a song and cried out “Encore”, the performer obligingly sang it again.^[4] The verb, to call for a repetition, followed in 1748,^[11][3][6] and the noun, a call for repetition or the repetition itself, in 1763.^[11][3][4] Weekley thought the English use typical of the English treatment of foreign words, since the French and Italians themselves shout bis;^[12] Hoad notes that the verb is not used so in French.^[9] The word also came to mean any second achievement, especially one surpassing the first.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1712 – interjection.^[11][3][5]
• 1748 – verb.^[11][3]
• 1763 – noun.^[11][3][4]

Modern meaning

Interjection

1. Again; once more, called out by an audience to demand an additional performance.

Noun

1. A demand by an audience, usually by applause, for an additional performance.
2. An additional or repeated performance given in response to such a demand.
3. A second achievement, especially one that surpasses the first.

Verb

1. To call for a repetition or an additional performance of a piece or by a performer.

Related words

• hour
• bis
• curtain call

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray